Mistress of the Temple
This is Dorothy Eady’s story– a woman who had her life once described in The New York Times as “one of the Western World’s most intriguing and convincing modern case histories of reincarnation”. After a fall down stairs at the age of three, when she was declared dead, she awoke as if having had a refreshing rest, full of health and asking to “go home.” Her home was no longer the London house of her birth; her memories of ancient Egypt had started. Or rather the memories of Bentreshy, a Temple of Isis priestess. Dorothy was now never destined to be the mother and wife her own family assumed for her.
Yvonne Harlech very obviously has a strong love for Egypt. Her passion for this era leaps off the page and you find yourself absolutely absorbed, feeling the desert sun burning your skin and just wishing you could be there at those feasts!
It’s rare to come across a biography that is so engrossing. This is a page-turner, a glued-to-your-hands story of love and memory, of a passion for ancient Egypt and a lament at how life has changed (particularly for women) over the years. I’m feeling a touch of a book hangover with this one. It was such a good read that the images have remained. I understand that there is a sequel to this and it will definitely be added to my collection. Thoroughly enjoyable, rich and satisfying, Mistress of the Temple has entered my top ten list of favourite books and is unlikely to be removed.
